At the Root: My Journey to Health and Healing: Could your mouth be the root cause of your health problems?

Copyright © 2017 by Kimberly Miles

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic, photographic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

The information and procedures contained in this book are based on the personal experiences, opinions, ideas and research of the author. This book has been published to share the author’s story and is intended for informational and reference uses only, and not for use as, or a substitute for, diagnosis or treatment of any dental, medical or health problem or condition of any kind. The information in this book is in no way a substitute for examination, diagnosis, advice and treatment by a qualified dentist, physician, or other licensed health care professional. The reader of this book should consult with a qualified dentist, physician, or other licensed health care professional before any treatment. The publisher and the author shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss, damage or injury caused, or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information and procedures discussed in this book. References in this book are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute any form of endorsement.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: 2017

Published by Kimberly Miles Communications, LLC

Visit our website at www.kimberlymiles.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016918563

ISBN: 978-1-62747-008-7

Digital ISBN: 978-1-62747-014-8

eISBN:9781543925265

For my daughters who inspire me

and

who taught me that it is never too late

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to those pioneers whose vision and contributions to health and dentistry have made the world more beautiful: Dr. Michael Margolis, Dr. Hal A. Huggins, Dr. Weston Price, Dr. Frank Billings, Dr. E.C. Rosenow, Dr. Martin H. Fischer, Dr. Melvin Page, Dr. George E. Meinig, Mr. Walter J. Clifford, Dr. Boyd Haley, Dr. Christopher Hussar, Dr. J.E. Bouquot, Dr. Thomas E. Levy and Dr. Robert Kulacz.

A heartfelt thanks goes to Dr. Daniela Hutyrova who never stopped encouraging my quest for health. To Karen Von Merveldt-Guevara whose expertise and tenacity put me on the path to finding the root cause of my symptoms. I greatly value our friendship. To you both I am eternally grateful.

To Robin Bailey, Michi Nadler, Dr. Steven Johnson, the late Dr. Mark Viafora, William Gajewski, Rinzai, Sarah Tewhey, Hayley Merchant, William Hanrahan, Debbie Crick and Gwenn Langmack for being there when I needed you most. Thank you for your loving support and sharing your gifts.

It took a small village of professionals to support me in my dream of writing and publishing this book. To Tom Bird and his staff: I could not have done this without you!

I would also like to thank Dr. Jeannine Kinney from Oak Creek Small Animal Clinic for her compassion and knowledge and for taking good care of the Wiggs. To my loving companion Mr. Wiggles, a small rescue dog who has been by my side through the latter half of my story and as I wrote this book. Thank you, dear Wiggs, for reminding me that love is always the answer.

Thank you to artist and artisan Ann Allen for crafting my two beautiful heart pendants that became my good-luck charms and continued inspiration.

Last but not least, my thanks to my husband Forrest Davis for his efforts in editing the many renditions of this manuscript. Your red pen inspired me to become a better writer and gave me the courage to find my voice. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Foreword

By Dr. Michael Margolis

Do you have unexplained health problems that doctors can’t treat –– or even worse, tell you it’s all in your head? With this book, Kim takes you on her journey that so many others have traveled. Far too many have suffered similar health issues that have torn their lives apart.

Kim excelled in high school, especially in writing and athletics. Upon graduation, she was looking forward to a promising college career in writing. However, this all came to an abrupt stop halfway through college –– and she had no idea why. She became unable to write or think the way she could just a few short years earlier. Her college experience fell into the depths of despair, anguish, devastation and disappointment. But why did this happen? What was the underlying reason?

Like thousands of teenagers and students, Kim had her wisdom teeth extracted. That appointment dictated the remainder of Kim’s college career –– and the start of her personal health decline. It took thirty years for her to realize how much this simple procedure had affected her health.

Although Kim’s story is unique to her, it plays out similarly for thousands of patients with unexplained health problems. Kim’s health problems increased exponentially, and she saw physician after physician, dentist after dentist. No one could offer her a solution until she met an alternative, European-trained physician who asked her one key question no one had asked before: What is your dental history? Shortly after that, Kim was referred to me for treatment.

Kim has a unique writing style that allows you to travel with her through her journey, but it is also filled with fact and science that far too many are unaware of. This book may be the key for you to start making informed decisions for yourself and for your health.

Kim found her key to good health through the tooth-body connection. Will you?

Michael D. Margolis, DDS

Doctor of Integrative Medicine

My Dentist, PC

Mesa, AZ 85210

Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond.

Miguel de Cervantes

Fig. 1 Anatomy of the mouth

Chapter 1

Boldly go into the great and vast unknown.

Ann Allen

I stood at my bathroom sink, staring into the face in the large mirror before me. My left cheek was slightly swollen and my jawbone tender from the oral surgery I had just gone through that morning. This was the last of my three dental surgeries, which had spanned over a year. On this memorable morning, my dentist had opened up and cleaned out the extraction sites of two of the four wisdom teeth that had been removed when I was twenty. Now that these cavitations were properly treated, my jawbone could fully heal.

At a very basic level, cavitations are voids in the jawbone, or –– more simply — holes. More than that, cavitations can be highly toxic holes in the jawbone, because they potentially can harbor chronic infection. For the last thirty years, these cesspools of pathogenic bacteria and their toxic waste had continuously seeped from my jawbone into my body. I believe these toxins burdened my immune system and changed my body’s chemistry, causing a myriad of symptoms. The remedy I chose for this problem was to surgically clean out the dead bone tissue and toxic waste from the boney socket so that the area could permanently heal.

For the past thirty years I strove to live a normal, productive and happy life amid mysterious illnesses that were my constant companion. Today’s final surgery turned off this fountain of toxins. The majority of my symptoms I had struggled with for so many years were finally gone.

Sighing deeply, I felt the last bit of tension in my shoulders give way. I was tired and sore, but a deep sense of appreciation welled up inside me as soft, gentle chills cascaded through my body. Absent-mindedly, I reached for the heart pendant that rested against my chest. The necklace, a gift from my husband, had accompanied me on all three surgeries. This striking pendant had several small semi-precious stones embedded into the surface, with cutout gold stars, a half moon and engraved shapes. On the back of the heart the artist had engraved, in a feminine script, Boldly go into the great and vast unknown.1

Shifting my gaze, I focused on the view in the mirror out the window that was behind me. I could see the dark-green pine trees in my neighbor’s yard. Further beyond I saw the brilliant blue sky, red rocks and rough terrain of Sedona, Arizona. In the mirror I watched two hawks climb in the sky and glide out of view. I had been a pioneer, boldly going into the great and vast unknown to explore the connection between the health of my mouth and the health of my body.

In my many years of going to doctors, with one exception, not once did a doctor look into my mouth to examine my teeth or gums or even to ask me about my dental history. Doctors overlook the mouth when they assess health and well-being. The mouth has been exiled by the medical community and sent off to the exclusive domain of the dentist.2 I strongly believe that the mouth can become the origin of, or at least a factor in, chronic disease and debilitating illness.

The mouth has a great deal to tell us about our health. It is the gateway to the body and to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. The oral cavity, with its seven hundred types of bacteria, is home to approximately ten to fifty billion bacteria, which is the immune system’s first line of defense. The oral cavity takes in nourishment and prepares it for digestion and the assimilation of nutrients that keep the body running smoothly.

One of my favorite Greek mythologies illustrates the importance of what goes into our mouth. Zeus and his wife Metis, the Goddess of Prudence who acted as his advisor, were expecting their first child. Zeus worried about the prophecy that foretold the overthrow of his rule by his second child, as Zeus had done to his own father. Zeus’s solution was to trick Metis into turning herself into a fly –– and then he swallowed her. Their daughter Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, later sprang from his head as a full-grown woman dressed in armor. As for Metis, the goddess lived inside of Zeus, nurturing and nourishing him with her wise counsel.

Metis symbolically portrays the inner resources of wisdom, insight and clarity that reside within our own body, heart and soul. We have been taught to discount and distrust these critical gifts, which are an important pathway to self-acceptance, self-love and self-care. We all have access to these inner resources, but what we place in our mouth, whether it be food, drink, medications or dental work, influences how well we can hear the authentic voice of our own wise and loving inner counsel. Placing unhealthy things in the mouth affects the body and mind in undesirable ways that distort and turn down the volume of our inner counsel into an inaudible whisper. This ability to connect with our inner counsel –– in the form of our heart, gut instincts, knowing or intuition — is critical to the overall quality of our lives. It affects how we think and feel, and whether we can express ourselves authentically. To keep the mouth as healthy as possible is a sacred responsibility, and an act of supreme self-love.

The mouth is a sacred organ. The King James version of the Bible tells us, For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh (Luke 6:45): the heart being the channel for gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, resilience, and most of all, the power of love. The mouth is the avenue for the flow of wisdom from our soul. The Bible says, For I will give you a mouth and wisdom (Luke 21:15). Through the mouth we express our creativity, ideas, thoughts and emotions. The mouth gives clarity and form to our hopes, dreams and desires. The mouth connects us to family and friends and allows us to share, support, nurture, and pass on the stories and the wisdom of others.

Our culture is full of idioms of the mouth that colorfully describe different concepts. We say:

I had a bad taste in my mouth, which means I was left with a bad impression.

Being a loud mouth means not knowing when to be quiet, or talking without thinking.

Down in the mouth is another way to say I am discouraged or sad.

Mouth-watering refers to delicious food.

Put your money where your mouth is means to take action and just not talk about something you believe in.

Word of mouth means to pass information from person to person.

Shooting off your mouth is saying things you should not.

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth means to be born into a wealthy, privileged family.

The mouth may well be the root of all evil, as well as a megaphone that announces our humanity, love and thirst for connection and knowledge. The mouth is a critical instrument of pleasure and pain that shapes and defines us throughout our lives. By what we choose to communicate to others, our lives become a matter of discovery or denial. Despite the importance the mouth plays in our culture, we do not understand the ramifications of placing things into the mouth that have no business being there. We have not figured out that what goes into our mouth affects the overall functioning and health of both the body and the mind.

Through the